Just So Stories · Chapter
The Crab That Played with the Sea explained
In the time of the Very Beginnings, the Eldest Magician sets the Earth and Sea in order and assigns each animal its role.
What happens
In the time of the Very Beginnings, the Eldest Magician sets the Earth and Sea in order and assigns each animal its role. The Man, with his little girl-daughter, demands that all animals obey him, but Pau Amma the Crab sneaks away to play alone in the deep waters. When the tides cause chaos, the Eldest Magician confronts Pau Amma, strips him of his hard shell, and ultimately establishes the tides by commanding the Moon to pull the sea twice daily. Pau Amma's descendants are allowed safe hiding places but must shed their shells yearly as a reminder.
Themes in this chapter
Order and Chaos
The Eldest Magician establishes order by assigning each animal a role, but Pau Amma's defiance introduces chaos through uncontrolled tides, which are eventually regulated.
Consequences of Idleness
The Man's laziness leads to the Moon being tasked to pull the sea twice daily, creating the tides and the 'Malazy' people.
Pride and Humility
Pau Amma's pride in his importance is humbled when the Eldest Magician removes his shell, forcing him to acknowledge his limitations.
Characters to notice
- The Eldest Magician
The creator who assigns roles to all animals and later disciplines Pau Amma for disrupting the sea.
- Pau Amma the Crab
The King Crab who defies the Man's authority and plays with the Sea, causing tides; later humbled by the Eldest Magician.
- Daddy
The Man (Son of Adam) who demands obedience from all animals and whose house is flooded by the tides.
- Taffimai Metallumai
The little girl-daughter who observes Pau Amma's escape and later picks up the magic nut.
- Best Beloved
The audience addressed throughout the tale.
Key passages
“Once a day and once a night the Sea runs up the Perak river and drives the sweet-water back into the forest, so that my house is made wet; once a day and once a night it runs down the river and draws all the water after it, so that there is nothing left but mud”
The tide floods the Man's house twice daily and then recedes, leaving mud.
The Man complains to the Eldest Magician about the disruptive tides caused by Pau Amma.
“I cannot make you play the play you were meant to play, Pau Amma, because you escaped me at the Very Beginning; but if you choose, I can make every stone and every hole and every bunch of weed in all the seas a safe Pusat Tasek for you and your children for always.”
Since Pau Amma refused his original role, the Eldest Magician offers to make every nook in the sea a safe haven for him and his offspring.
The Eldest Magician provides a compromise for Pau Amma's future safety.
“From that day to this the Moon has always pulled the sea up and down and made what we call the tides.”
The Moon has been responsible for the tides ever since.
The story concludes by explaining the origin of tides as a result of the Moon's action.